Van Helsing (film)

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Van Helsing
Directed by Stephen Sommers
Produced by Stephen Sommers
Bob Ducsay
Written by Stephen Sommers
Starring Hugh Jackman
Kate Beckinsale
Richard Roxburgh
David Wenham
Shuler Hensley
Elena Anaya
Will Kemp
Kevin J. O'Connor
Alun Armstrong
Music by Alan Silvestri
Cinematography Allen Daviau
Editing by Bob Ducsay
Kelly Matsumoto
Jim May
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release date(s) USA May 7, 2004
Running time 132 min.
Country USA
Language English
Latin
Budget $160 million
Official website
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Van Helsing is a 2004 American action/horror film about vampire hunter Gabriel Van Helsing, written and directed by Stephen Sommers. The film stars Hugh Jackman and Kate Beckinsale. The film opened on May 7, 2004.

Based on a version of the character of Abraham Van Helsing from Bram Stoker's novel Dracula, the film also incorporates characters from other works such as the film The Wolf Man into the narrative, and draws particularly on literary classics of the gothic horror canon such as Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein. The movie has been compared to Konami's Castlevania popular series of games.

Contents

[edit] Plot

 The plot summary in this article or section is too long or detailed compared to the rest of the article.
Please edit the article to focus on discussing the work rather than merely reiterating the plot.

The film begins in black and white in the fashion of the classic Universal monster films, specifically recreating James Whale's "Frankenstein" (1931). The story opens in Transylvania, 1887, where an angry mob is preparing to storm Dr. Frankenstein's (Samuel West) castle, as his infamous reanimation experiment is about to complete. Count Dracula (Richard Roxburgh) has financed and housed the experiment, because he wants to use the monster (Shuler Hensley) for an unspecified dark purpose. When Dr. Frankenstein refuses to allow the creature to be used for such a purpose, Dracula kills him. Immediately afterward, the mob breaks into the castle. Distracted, Dracula fails to notice when Frankenstein's monster, which had to witness the murder of its 'father', breaks free from its restraints. It throws a heavy piece of machinery at Dracula, sending him into the flames of a roaring fire. Then he takes his "father's" body and runs off to a nearby windmill. Igor (Kevin J. O'Connor), Frankenstein's assistant, reveals his master's location, and the mob follows. The mob burns down the windmill, and the monster and Dr. Frankenstein fall into a cavern below. Dracula, unharmed by the flames, and his brides, manage to frighten the mob away, but too late to save the Monster.

Returning to color, it is revealed that Van Helsing (Hugh Jackman) is a monster hunter for a secret organization called "The Knights of the Holy Order" whose mission is to fight evil. Van Helsing is hunted himself, branded a murderer, as most of the monsters he kills change back to human form once they're dead and are found by the authorities. Also, he is haunted by memories of some sort of past life, most of which are of events that occurred hundreds of years ago. The Order sends him after Count Dracula, partially because the Order believes he might find the answers to his real past on the journey. He, and his assistant Friar Carl (David Wenham), arrive in Romania and meet Anna Valerious (Kate Beckinsale). Anna is one of the last of the Valerious family, along with her brother, Velkan (Will Kemp). Their family has been trying to kill Dracula since their ancestor swore to God that their family would never enter heaven until Dracula was dead. Velkan is attacked and apparently killed by a werewolf during a failed attempt to kill the creature, making Anna the last Valerious, and just as determined to kill Dracula. Upon arriving, Van Helsing and Anna are attacked by Dracula's three brides, Aleera (Elena Anaya), Verona (Silvia Colloca) and Marishka (Josie Maran). Using special weapons designed to kill vampires, Van Helsing defeats one (Marishka).

Anna and Van Helsing form an alliance to kill Dracula, who is using Castle Frankenstein for some mysterious purpose. They travel to the castle and find that Dracula and his Brides have been breeding and trying to produce thousands of offspring. Because the Count and his Brides are undead, their bat-human hybrid-shaped offspring come into the world dead, and the Count is using Victor Frankenstein's work to bring them to life. However, every attempt he makes fails, and he needs Frankenstein's monster to make it work. He is partially successful with werewolf venom from Anna's brother Velkan, who was not killed and is now under Dracula's control, but the results prove insufficient, as the children die after a short period (the Count's last experiment resulted in the death of Velkan's father). In his haste to kill the vampire young, Van Helsing carelessly reveals himself to the Count, who stalks his prey through the castle. Finally Dracula confronts Van Helsing (whom he refers to as "Gabriel") and tries to bargain with him, saying that he knows about his past, but Van Helsing makes conversation impossible by continuously attempting to kill Dracula with a crucifix and a silver stake, neither of which work. Dracula leaves once he learns his children are dead. Caught in the rain and on the run, Anna and Van Helsing arrive at the windmill that was burned down in the prologue. Anna tells Van Helsing that no conventional method to kill Dracula will work. While at the windmill, the floor gives way, and Anna and Van Helsing fall into a cavern. Meanwhile, Carl, who had slept with a woman he saved from Dracula's children, finds a hidden painting of two knights fighting, framed by a Latin inscription. As he recites it, the knights come alive and fight, one of them turning into a werewolf, the other a vampire.

Van Helsing observes the cavern and describes the last creature who stepped in. Frankenstein's monster has been hiding down there, away from Dracula and the merciless townspeople. Van Helsing cannot kill the creature, as it is not evil, and so attempts to spirit it away to the Vatican in Rome, where it will be safer. A chase ensues between Van Helsing and the Brides of Dracula, where another is killed by an explosion of stakes in a decoy carriage. Velkan, in werewolf form, attacks and wounds Van Helsing, infecting him with the werewolf curse, however Van Helsing succeeds in killing Velkan. Infuriated at the death of her brother, Anna turns on Van Helsing, asking how he could do such a thing. Caught in the moment, Anna is captured by Dracula's last surviving bride. Van Helsing has only two nights before becoming a full Werewolf, so the group travel to the nearby town, where the Bride seemed to land. The Bride tracks them down and tells them her master is willing to trade Anna for the monster at a ball in Budapest the following night. Though he accepts the offer, Van Helsing has no intention of going through with such an exchange, but neither does Dracula. Van Helsing and Carl tranquilize Frankenstein's monster and hide him in a cemetery.

Dracula is hosting a masquerade ball, where he intends to make Anna another bride, but before he bites her, Van Helsing rescues Anna; however, all the patrons are Vampires and Frankenstein's monster is captured by Dracula's henchmen. Escaping by killing all the vampires with a device made by Carl, Van Helsing must now find Dracula's lair as he begins his transformation into a werewolf. Carl deciphers the clues in the Valerious house. Apparently, Dracula was the son of Anna's ancestor. After he was killed in 1462, Dracula made a deal with the devil for eternal life which can only be sustained by drinking blood (there was a picture with people between Dracula and Satan, but when folded, it shows Dracula touching Satan's finger). Anna's ancestor, who could not bring himself to kill his own son, had the vampire banished to a frozen land and went to Rome to ask for forgiveness, which is how the Valerious pact was made. A clue is discovered that only a werewolf can kill Dracula. A map of Transylvania in the study creates a portal to Castle Dracula with an incantation Van Helsing was given back in Rome.

The group travel through the portal and into the vast castle before them. Frankenstein's monster, who is imprisoned in a block of ice up to his neck, reveals that Dracula had a cure for werewolves, should one turn on him. Van Helsing realizes that this must mean werewolves can kill the Count, and goes to fight Dracula, while Carl and Anna force Igor to find the cure. He discovers Frankenstein's monster, strapped into a device atop the castle, where the lightning must pass through him to charge the machinery below and vivify Dracula's offspring. Van Helsing starts to free him, but it attacked by Dracula and knocked into the hall below before he can undo the last chain. The monster is struck by lightning, the children come to undeath, but the monster itself is hurled from the tower. Igor takes them to the cure but, as they enter the chamber, seals them in. The final bride soon appears, and Anna fights her while Carl runs to Van Helsing with the cure. As he is crossing a vast bridge to reach the other wing of the castle, Igor discovers him and gives chase with an electric cattle prod. The monster, which managed to grab a cable, accidentally knocks Igor from the bridge into the chasm below. It pleads with Carl to save it, as it wants to live. Carl goes against the orders of the Knights of the Holy Order by helping the monster to swing free before running on. Van Helsing meanwhile fights Dracula just as his werewolf transformation intensifies, realizing that the only way to kill the vampire's children now is to slay Dracula. Frankenstein's monster swings into the room where Anna and the Bride are locked in mortal combat, keeping the vampire at bay so Anna can go help Van Helsing. It is surprised when Anna thanks him. Anna manages to cross the bridge with another cable, but the Bride breaks away from the monster and pursues her, only to be killed with a silver stake. Anna dashes to the rescue of Van Helsing with the antidote, hoping to get there before the transformation is permanent.

Dracula reveals that Van Helsing is the "Left hand of God", another name for the archangel Gabriel, which may explain Van Helsing's long life and his aptitude at destroying evil. Dracula reveals that Van Helsing was the one that murdered him in 1462, and that he will tell Van Helsing everything he's forgotten, if he will become Dracula's partner. Van Helsing refuses this offer, transforms again, and kills Dracula. Anna runs in, but Van Helsing has lost control to the fury of the werewolf, and he kills her. She manages to inject him with the cure before she dies, however, and he changes back into a human. Anna is given a proper cremation by Van Helsing and Carl, while Frankenstein's monster takes to the sea to evade the Vatican's orders to have him killed, and to find somewhere where he is accepted. Van Helsing looks to the sky and sees Anna and her family ascend to heaven, and then he and Carl ride off into the setting sun.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Homages to classic Universal Horror Films

Van Helsing pays several homages to many Classic Universal monster films, essentially the ones involving Dracula, the Frankenstein monster, and the Wolf Man. The most obvious homage is the opening scene, which harks back to the original Frankenstein movie. Here is a list of other classic scenes in the movie.

  • The windmill filled with water is from The Bride of Frankenstein.
  • Van Helsing's Fight with Dracula as a werewolf is from Larry Talbot's fight with Dracula in Abbot and Costello meet Frankenstein.
  • The monster's fight with one of Dracula's brides draws from the scene where the monster throws Dracula's assistant out the window in Abbot and Costello meet Frankenstein.
  • Van Helsing's cure from being a werewolf and Anna's death resulting from it are part of the scene where Ilonka kills Larry Talbot in House of Frankenstein.
    • Part of that scene also appears in Velkan's death.
  • One of Dracula's brides getting killed by crossbow bolts could draw from the demise of Dracula's Daughter.
  • Dracula plotting to use the Frankenstein monster for his own personal gain is from the plot of Abbot and Costello meet Frankenstein.
  • The monster being frozen in a block of ice is from Frankenstein meets The Wolf Man and House of Frankenstein.

[edit] Other media

The DVD was released on October 19, 2004. Sommers expanded the story of Van Helsing in two direct spin-offs. The animated prequel titled Van Helsing: The London Assignment takes place before the main events of the film, focusing on Van Helsing's mission to try to end a Jack the Ripper-style murderer, who turns out to be Mr. Hyde, from terrorizing London. There was also a one-issue comic book titled Van Helsing: From Beneath the Rue Morgue, that follows Van Helsing on a self-contained adventure that occurs during the events of the film, just after the death of Jekyll/Hyde in Paris but before Van Helsing returned to Rome. In the adventure, Van Helsing deals with Doctor Moreau and his hybrid mutants.

A spin-off television series, titled Transylvania, was planned, using the film's village sets, but due to poor US box-office, critical panning and a considerable budget for each episode, the series' status is currently unknown. The series was to be set in the same period as the film, and was reportedly to focus on the story of a Texas cowboy who becomes sheriff in a Transylvanian village, where he must keep the peace between two warring families with some "monstrous genes". Sommers wrote the plot and supervised six episode scripts.[citation needed]

Vivendi Universal Games also published a Van Helsing video game for PlayStation 2, Xbox and Game Boy Advance. The game follows a similar plot to the movie, has gameplay similar to Devil May Cry and the PS2 and Xbox versions feature the voice talent of many of the actors including Hugh Jackman and Richard Roxburgh. Lavastorm Entertainment produced a mobile game that followed the plot of the movie, but was poorly received.[1]

A direct to DVD sequel was hinted in 2007. It will likely have an all new cast and a lower budget than the previous film.[2] The sequel has been rumored to star Julian McMahon of Charmed and Fantastic Four fame. Rumors have also indicated that The Invisible Man and The Creature from the Black Lagoon would be the villains/monsters. All rumors of a sequel have since been reportedly debunked[citation needed]. On July 8, 2008, the film will be re-released on a 2-Disc Collector's Edition DVD set.

[edit] Reception

The film received highly negative reviews, earning a 22% "rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Domestically, the film grossed around $120,177,084. Worldwide, the film grossed $300,257,475, which is only a little more than double the film's budget of around $160 million.[3]

[edit] References

  1. ^ IGN: Van Helsing
  2. ^ BD Horror News - Universal Goes Direct-to-Video Crazy With Jaws, Helsing
  3. ^ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=vanhelsing.htm

[edit] External links

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Preceded by
Mean Girls		 Box office number-one films of 2004 (USA)
May 9, 2004		 Succeeded by
Troy
v • d • e
Films directed by Stephen Sommers

The Adventures of Huck Finn (1993) • The Jungle Book (1994) • Deep Rising (1998) • The Mummy (1999) • The Mummy Returns (2001) • Van Helsing (2004) • G.I. Joe (2009)
v • d • e
Dracula
Characters of Dracula
Film Adaptations of Dracula
Nosferatu (1922) · Dracula (1931) · Dracula (1931 Spanish Version) · Dracula (1958) · Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968) · Count Dracula (1970) · Dracula (1973) · Count Dracula (1977) (1977) · Dracula (1979) · Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979) · Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) · Dracula (2002) · Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary (2002) · Dracula (2006)
Other films featuring Dracula
Stage Adaptations of Dracula
Dracula (1924)  · Count Dracula (1972)  · Dracula, a Musical Nightmare (1974)  · Dracula (1980)  · Dracula: the Musical? (1982)  · Dracula (1995)  · Dracula (1996)  · Dracula (2000)  · Dracula, the Musical (2004)
Parodies of Dracula
Dracula in video games